As Iron Sharpens Iron: A Series on Mentoring

Part 2: What God Says About It

Part 1 is located here: http://www.seattlechurchofchrist.org/2013/02/08/as-iron-sharpens-iron-pt-1/

I never really liked the term “mentor.” Maybe because it’s part of the word “tor-mentor,” or maybe it’s just because it seems overly used and ill-defined in its typical everyday use. And, it seems kind of cheesy. After all, who says what a mentor is or isn’t?

But, that’s probably just me. The word comes from a character named Mentor in The Odyssey who imparted a bit of wisdom and knowledge to some guy named Telemachus. I don’t know the details, and it’d probably be boring to talk about, so I’ll stop with the history lesson. The English dictionary says it’s a “trusted counselor or guide.” Some people would say it’s a role model. Whatever its exact definition, I think we can all agree that it has something to do with someone who knows lots about stuff helping along someone who knows less about stuff.

I’m sure it’s no surprise: the term “mentoring” never appears in the Bible. But if you take our rather vague definition from above, the Bible is full of illustrations of that kind of relationship. Here’s some to start:

Jesus and the Twelve

Barnabas and Paul

Paul and Titus

Paul and Timothy

Naomi and Ruth

Elijah and Elisha

Jethro and Moses

Moses and Joshua

Deborah and Barak

Elizabeth and Mary

Eli and Samuel

Samuel and David

Mordecai and Esther

Undoubtedly I missed quite a few. But it’s a good start to a list, and if you can think of others off the top of your head, it only reinforces my point. The Bible is loaded with examples of wise folks sharing their wisdom with the up-and-coming.

It seems to me that this was part of God’s plan to reach us all along. He (God) was the first mentor. As you know, he walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden before the Fall and spent time talking, teaching, and growing in relationship. It was someone who knew lots about stuff helping someone who knew less about stuff. How lucky Adam was! From way back then then and on through the New Testament, famous duos emerge in the Bible in a similar format: one sharing their life wisdom, and another learning from it.

If it was God’s idea to start the whole thing, I think it’d be wise for us to continue it. Paul’s letters to Timothy (the first and second) as well as to Titus are full of encouragements, commands, memories, and familiarity that speak to a very close “mentoring” relationship that the two guys shared with him. Without Paul’s dedication, commitment and encouragement to Timothy and Titus, there’s no telling what would have become of the churches in Crete (where Titus led) or Ephesus (where Timothy led). These were foundational churches that helped form the success story of the Church in the first century, without which we might not have found ourselves here. Thank goodness they did not fail!

I’d like to end with a passage in 1 Peter 5. It’s one of those passages where I can really see God’s all-knowing hand at work behind the scenes. It’s an exhortation (encouragement) to a group of old guys and a group of young guys in the church two thousand years ago:

[To the elders among you]: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Peter seems to be saying it is the duty of the old folks – or elders – to provide a shepherding relationship to those that are under their care (the young ones). You can read into the passage a bit and sense the reluctance these first century elders must have felt. I mean, really, aren’t young people weird? What would they want with us? Peter reminds them that this oughtn’t be something they do out of obligation but goodwill. Their example is something that makes a profound difference in the lives of their flock.

But he doesn’t stop there:

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

God also must have anticipated young people’s resistance to admitting that they need the help. Seriously! Who wants some crusty old dude’s advice, when they don’t even know how to send a proper text message? They can’t relate! Nowadays, it’s all the hype to blaze your own trail. It’s no mistake that he tells the young men (and I think it applies to women, too) that they must submit and clothe themselves with humility towards those who are older. We need the wisdom from them because yes, they can relate, and most importantly, they got through it.

Both groups – the old and the young – need one another. You can look to Paul and Timothy, Jesus and the Twelve, or any other of those “couples” on the list above. There’s no telling where the younger half would be without the older half imparting some wisdom into their life. Similarly, for many of us, there’s no telling where we’d be without someone wise in our lives guiding us through life’s tricky waters. Many people have shaped who I became today. I need guidance. You can see my last post, Part 1, to understand just how dumb I can be at times. Without mentors, I’d be totally lost. We need these relationships.

Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for Part 3, “What We’re Gonna Do About It,” to learn just how we’re going to start doing this in the Seattle Church of Christ.

This year, the Seattle Church of Christ teen ministry is going to be making some inspiring changes. One of them, and the one for which I am most excited, is the implementation of a “Big Brother/Big Sister” mentoring program. We are going to be pushing for a start date in March, with the blessing of the evangelists and many of you. Until then, I wanted to write a series of three articles, or posts, or whatever you want to call them, that begins talking about why we are making these changes. Below is the first. The three part series is titled “Iron Sharpens Iron.”

Here’s what you can expect -

Part 1: Why We Need Them

Part 2: What God Says About It

Part 3: How We Will Do It

So without further ado, here is Part One: Why We Need Them:

Sometimes I wonder why God puts such a high priority on making sure we have other people watching out for us. For one thing, the world doesn’t always seem to be full of geniuses. For another, I know that I’ve made some pretty bad calls when the outcome of my decision concerns only me. I can only imagine how badly some things might turn out had I advised others in the way I advise myself.

That being said, I remember some timely bits of wisdom that helped (or would’ve helped) spare me some bad outcomes:

When I was seven or eight, I got done watching a He-Man marathon (hopefully you remember that show, because it’s as good as TV gets) on a Saturday morning. I looked up to He-Man, and thought I should be just like him, so I decided I was going to go down to the local park to “beat somebody up”. It didn’t matter who, so long as somebody got beat up. My older cousin Travis, whom I’ve always admired, advised me not to do such a thing. I did it anyway, and my parents found me later that day crying with a kid standing on my head in the sandbox. I wish I would’ve listened to Travis.

When I was eleven, I thought it was a good idea to use the side wall of my house as a makeshift hockey goal, and shoot pucks at it. Just before I began hitting pucks (which are dense, hard projectiles) at a delicately finished brick wall replete with windows, my brother Bryan came out and suggested I think twice before engaging in the activity. I think it spared me some pain later on.

When I was in high school, I played on a competitive hockey team comprised of mainly older (25-35 years old) French-speaking Swiss guys and my gym teacher Tim. I gained the nickname “Le Peu”, roughly translated as “Stinky”, because I wouldn’t shower immediately following games and practices. Those games or practices would sometimes precede a cramped eight to twelve hour bus ride home. Tim informed me of my budding reputation and gave me some advice on treating my equipment and proper sanitation after each game. He also proved to be about as good of a friend as I could ask for on those long bus rides, because I could hardly communicate with anyone else. I am grateful to him to this day.

When I was in college, I thought it would be a good idea to skip a week’s worth of classes and meet as many people as possible so that they could hear about Jesus. After the fact, I told Alex Whitaker of my success and zeal, and in return he zealously told me to re-examine my priorities and go to class. Not only in that instance, but in many others, do I owe Alex a great deal. He shaped my faith in some pretty major ways over the five years I was at the University of Washington.

I know those seem like silly examples, but they meant a lot at the time that they happened. And despite the triviality of each story, I needed each of those guys at those times in my life. They enriched my life and added wisdom at important times that shaped my future (whether it was short or long term) in significant ways. Whatever stage of life we’re at, we need some people to watch our backs. After all, as the writer in Proverbs says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

That’s why we are going to push forward with our Big Brother/Big Sister project in the teen ministry. We all need somebody who will guide us, advise us, and be a source of wisdom in our wisdom-less times. More information will come out as the weeks progress towards March, particularly about the specifics of the program. In the meantime, I am only asking one thing from you:

1. If you are a teen, start thinking about folks you look up to in the church. Consider their life, faith, career, personality, or whatever else you want, and see if you’re interested at knowing more about them.
2. If you are not a teen, pray about your willingness to play a crucial role in somebody else’s life over the next couple of weeks. Ask God to examine your heart and find ways for you to bring more of Him to the world around you.

Thanks for reading!